WhatsApp Introduces Verified Business Accounts to its Apps

Last month, Facebook-owned social messaging platform; WhatsApp was reported to be testing verified profiles and other business-oriented features with the beta version of its Windows Phone app. Now, according to new reports, the company has announced that it is introducing verified business accounts to the app in order to increase the convenience with which users are able to communicate with the businesses.

The company clarified that WhatsApp business verification is currently limited to a small number of businesses that are currently participating in a pilot program.

WhatsApp in a statement said that some business accounts have already been verified and that if you see a green badge next to a contact’s name, it means that WhatsApp has confirmed that the phone number of this contact belongs to a business account.

“WhatsApp will also let you know when you start talking to a business via yellow messages inside a chat and there is no way to delete these messages from the chat,” WhatsApp writes in a statement.

One other thing the company pointed out is that if you already have a business’s phone number saved in your address book, the name you will see is the name you have saved in your address book. However, in case you didn’t save the phone number in your contacts, you will see the name that the business chose for its own self inside the app.

Also, in case you don’t want any business to bother you on WhatsApp, you will always have the option to block them, just like any other contact.

WABetaInfo, which first spotted the feature shared a screen shot of Android’s latest beta app – on how users will be able to view a business account and the information that is available.

As per the report, WhatsApp has updated its servers to improve the synchronisation of your contact numbers. In case there is a business contact in your address book, it reportedly will not download that contact again.

The report also mentions that the new “Business Info” section, will come with information like the address, name, mail address, and its website.

In case the business has an account on Instagram, you will also be presented with the link of that profile as well.